Interviewed today on Face the Nation, President Barack Obama spoke in detail about his plans for Pakistan. Though he seemed to rule out “boots on the ground” in the south Asian nation, while insisting that his strategy would be constantly subject to change, he vowed that the Pakistani government would be held “much more accountable.”
Yet the central focus of America’s military operations in Pakistan, increasing in intensity since Obama took office, has been drone strikes. On this question, the president was entirely silent: he didn’t mention the ongoing air campaign into Pakistan nor was he asked. The closest he came was conceding that Pakistan was “a sovereign government.”
In the meantime, President Obama lashed out at the average citizen of Pakistan, saying it was their attitude that this was America’s war “has led to a steady creep of extremism in Pakistan that is the greatest threat to the stability of the Pakistani government – and ultimately the greatest threat to the Pakistani people.”